SERU test questions, what they actually look like
It is easy to prepare for multiple choice and then meet three other kinds of question on the day. Here is the list of types TfL has published, with the date we read it, and free practice in the same shape.
The four types
TfL Notice 06/25, dated 2 September 2025, lists these four types. That notice is about the taxi driver assessment, which TfL calls similar to the private hire one but runs as a separate assessment.
- Multiple choice with one correct answer.
- Multiple choice where you select all the correct answers.
- Reading a short section from the handbook and answering questions about it.
- Filling in missing words in a section of text, with a list of words to choose from.
The TfL private hire SERU page, read on 7 October 2026, is much shorter about it. One sentence, and this is the whole of it. It will involve multiple choice questions and completing sentences by adding missing words.
So two of the four types, the select all the correct answers one and the reading one, are published by TfL for the taxi assessment and not for private hire. We tell you that rather than pretending otherwise. Practising all four is the safe way round, because the cost of being ready for a type that does not appear is nothing.
The sentence completion question, and what changed in June 2024
You get a short piece of text with words missing and you put the right word in each gap. It used to be drag and drop. Since June 2024 each blank carries its own drop down instead, with 3 missing words in the sentence and 6 words offered on every single blank.
Six words on each of three blanks means you are choosing, not remembering, and it also means a wrong word can look perfectly reasonable. This is the part drivers lose marks on.
Source: tflseru.co.uk, read on 3 October 2026, matched by a second trade source. TfL has not published this detail. Treat it as the trade knowing its own business rather than as an official figure.
The handbook, and whether you get it on the day
This is what TfL Notice 06/25 says about the taxi assessment. A copy of the handbook is provided during the assessment and can be referred to as needed. However, drivers are expected to have read and understood the handbook in advance.
For private hire the picture is not as clear. TfL Notice 01/24, dated 17 January 2024, said this. TfL said it intended to trial making the PHV driver handbook available for drivers to refer to during the SERU assessment, which it called an open book assessment. The same notice says the SERU is not and has never intended to be a memory test.
The TfL private hire page, read on 7 October 2026, says nothing at all about having the handbook in front of you. So we do not know whether that trial became the rule. Prepare as though the book will not be there, and if it is, it is a gift.
The PHV Driver Handbook and the TfL video guides are free from TfL. Read them before the day, whatever happens in the room.
What our mock does about it
Our timed mock is 36 questions in 45 minutes, of which 16 are sentence completion with a drop down on every blank and the last 2 are reading and understanding. Those are our numbers for our paper, not TfL figures.
The sentence completion in our mock carries a drop down on every blank, because that is what the trade says the real one does. The last two of ours are a short notice we wrote ourselves and three statements, of which one is true.
All 202 questions across 11 sections carry an explanation in English and in Bangla. We write every question ourselves from the public rules. Nothing here is copied out of a TfL handbook.
No sign up, no card, scored on the spot with your weak sections named. Full access is £0.99, one payment for life. The SERU assessment itself is £40 and a resit is £30, from the TfL licensing page read on 7 October 2026.
Questions drivers ask
- What kind of questions are in the SERU assessment?
- TfL Notice 06/25, dated 2 September 2025, lists four types for the taxi assessment. Multiple choice with one correct answer. Multiple choice where you select all the correct answers. Reading a short section from the handbook and answering questions about it. Filling in missing words in a section of text, with a list of words to choose from. The TfL private hire page, read on 7 October 2026, lists only two. It will involve multiple choice questions and completing sentences by adding missing words.
- How does the sentence completion question work?
- Since June 2024 each blank carries a drop down instead of drag and drop, with 3 missing words in the sentence and 6 words offered on every blank. That comes from tflseru.co.uk, read on 3 October 2026, and was matched by a second trade source. TfL has not published it.
- Can I use the handbook during the SERU assessment?
- This is what TfL Notice 06/25 says about the taxi assessment. A copy of the handbook is provided during the assessment and can be referred to as needed. However, drivers are expected to have read and understood the handbook in advance. For private hire, TfL Notice 01/24 of 17 January 2024 said a trial was intended, and the TfL private hire page read on 7 October 2026 says nothing about the handbook being available. So nobody can tell you for certain.
- Is there free SERU practice?
- Yes. Ten questions on the home page, no sign up, scored on the spot, every answer explained in English and in Bangla. Full access to all 202 questions is £0.99, one payment.
Read the pass mark and pass rate, then the centre and booking, then check it all against the official TfL SERU page.